Digital libraries: principles and practice in a global environment

The goal of Digital Libraries: Principles and Practice in a Global Environment is to introduce readers to the principles underlying digital libraries, as well as to illustrate these principles by reference to a wide range of digital library practices throughout the world. Individual chapters deal with digital library users and the services that are offered them, information sources typically found in digital libraries, the standards and protocols with which digital libraries must cope in the context of interoperability, the software that can be used in the development of digital libraries, interface design, searching and browsing digital library collections, and managing digital libraries, including discussion of intellectual property rights and preservation issues. A final chapter comprises eight case studies drawn from Canada, England, India, Italy, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the US and Wales that are used to illustrate points made in earlier chapters. Digital Libraries: Principles and Practice in a Global Environment provides a concise and easily digestible introduction to a range of international, digital library-related developments for graduate and undergraduate students in Library Science, Information Science or Computer Science (and related) programmes around the world, as well as information professionals working in libraries and information units who wish to update their knowledge in this rapidly developing field. This excellent book is from two authors with a wealth of international experience in library and information studies which they draw upon throughout its chapters to explore the challenges and opportunities of developing and implementing digital library systems in multilingual and multicultural environments.